Mirror, Mirror On The Wall
by starlight.moon.princess
Summary: Given the chance to look into the Mirror of Erised, what would you see? ::A oneshot series:: ::Latest chapter - Hermione Granger::
1. The Mirror

"The Mirror of Erised was created centuries ago by the Founders as a tool of knowledge. The thinking behind its creation was that it would be a way to motivate people to achieve their goals. If one saw themselves as Minister of Magic, or Headmaster of Hogwarts, that person would be more likely to push themselves to achieve their aims. It was thought that the Mirror would be the perfect way to encourage witches and wizards to become hardworking, productive members of society.

However, cracks soon appeared in the Founders line of thoughts. Not everyone's heart's desire was an achievable goal – and some things that were seen in the Mirror were of the type that should never be achieved.

It was found that those orphan students who looked into Mirror often saw their dead families, whom no magic could recover. Many became addicted to faces of those they would never see again, and had to pried away from the Mirror. They would go for days without food, water or sleep. Of those who survived, most went insane.

Even faced with such overwhelming evidence that the Mirror of Erised was not the miracle tool it had once been thought of, the Headmasters of Hogwarts refused to discontinue its usage as a teaching device. The Mirror remained an integral part of the Hogwarts curriculum for a few hundred years, and looked slated to remain that way – until the Wizarding World was made aware of the true power of desire.

When William Kensington first glanced into the Mirror, he saw not only his dead family, but also what he believed what his future – the sight of him taking revenge on all those who had murdered them for being Muggle. Five years after his graduation from Hogwarts, the Wizarding World would be introduced to the first modern Dark Lord.

Keeping his name so that everyone knew whose hands they were suffering at, Kensington waged war against those he held responsible for his family's deaths – every pure or half-blooded witch and wizard. Like You-Know-Who, his goal was to purify the wizarding race. But unlike his, Kensington believed that it was Muggleborns who were the pure ones.

After his defeat and death, the Ministry decided the Mirror was too dangerous to let children look into. They believed – perhaps rightly – that if Kensington had not looked into the Mirror of Erised, he would not have become the man he was.

So the Mirror was hidden away to a place where only the Headmaster was allowed access. The only way for a person to look into the Mirror was by express permission from the Head of Hogwarts.

However, today's Ministry believes that your experience with the war against You-Know-Who is enough to convince those among you who are hungry for power not to turn Dark. And so, the Mirror has once again been brought back for students' usage.

This is a strictly voluntary activity. You will not be forced to look into the Mirror should you want. Nor will you be asked to reveal what you see inside it.

Some among you may have bumped into the Mirror during your nightly strolls. I encourage you to look into once again – the human heart's desires change quickly, and, if nothing else, this promises to be an enlightening experience.

Now - who would like to be the first to volunteer? Ah - of course. There we go now -"

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**Inspired by Lil'MissChris' Face Your Boggart. Go read that because it's amazing! :)**

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_For:_

_The If You Dare Challenge, Prompt 660. Mirror_

_All Canon Bootcamp, Prompt 19. Title_

_HP Potions Competition, Wit-Sharpening Potion_

_The Quidditch Competition, The Bluebottle_


	2. Finding the Snorkacks

Luna Lovegood had always been fascinated with the unknown. It was the lure of mystery that had drawn her to the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries, and it was the same curiosity that compelled her to be the first to volunteer to look into the Mirror of Erised.

Luna knew she had a stronger hold on her emotions than most other people. She had accepted her mother was dead, and wasn't returning. That didn't mean her mother had left her alone, but she knew that she wasn't going to see a departed friend or family member in the Mirror.

Nor was she going to see a changed past. Her mother had always told her 'there's no use crying over spilt potion,' and she wasn't the type to waste her days pondering what could have been.

No, the Mirror would definitely show her a vision of her future. The only question that remained was what would it be?

As Luna walked up to the Mirror, she felt the first stirrings of unease grow in her. What if the Mirror showed her a future that was impossible? She wasn't sure she was strong enough to avoid addiction to the Mirror.

Luna Lovegood knew her shortcomings very well, and one of them was the inability to let go of a dream. That was why she still insisted in the existence of her creatures, even though there was plenty of evidence that she was wrong.

But she wasn't the kind of person to back away from something she had set her mind to.

As she lifted her eyes to gaze into the Mirror, she gasped in surprise. That was – that was _her!_ Only, she was older in the Mirror, and more put together.

She was in some kind of mountainous woodland, a book clutched to her chest, with all sorts of professional magizoology equipment surrounding her. Somehow, she instinctively knew that she had written the book.

Luna was seeing herself as one of the most famous magizoologists in the world, she was sure of it.

A movement at the edge of the Mirror caught her eye. As the creature responsible for the movement crept into view, she could feel her eyes widening in shock. It was a purple creature, relatively unremarkable when compared to the world of magical animals, had it not been for one thing – a horn on each side of its head, each wrinkled.

A _Crumple-Horned Snorkack._

That – that was what she wanted. A successful career, revelation that the creatures she talked about were real.

She started to turn around, sure that that was all she was going to see. She almost missed the shimmering haze of a new figure appearing in the middle of the Mirror, but caught it from the corner of her eye.

Turning around, she saw a dark-haired, stormy-eyed man at her side. His features were hazy, not clarified; yet she had the strange feeling that she had seen him at Hogwarts.

She reached out to touch the Mirror in wonder. Even in her wildest dreams, she had never dared to imagine – friends were more than she had ever expected in her life, but a romantic partner for Loony Luna? She had always thought herself too crazy for that.

But this man, whoever he was, she felt a strange sense of connection to. Somehow, she just _knew_ that he was here at Hogwarts.

Everything else the Mirror had shown her were events that could only take place some time into her future. But the man; the man she could – and would – find as soon as possible.

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**A/N: I've kept the man in the Mirror as generic as possible, so that my readers can make up their own minds on who the man is. It's definitely not Harry, Draco or Neville - she knows them - but apart from that, it's up for discussion. The canon-heads amongst you can imagine it's Rolf. I like to think it's Theo Nott.**

**A/N 2: _Some_ of the chapters in this _may_ be AU. If that happens, I'll put a warning at the start of the chapter. Also, I'll be doing a canon chapter on top of the AU chapter for any character I do an AU chapter for. Just thought I'd inform you :)**

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_For:_

_The If You Dare Challenge, Prompt 89. Spun Dizzily_

_HP Potions Competition, Dreamless Sleep Potion_

_Gemstone Competition, Pearls_

_Philosopher's Stone Competition, The Mirror of Erised_

_Colours Competition, Indigo (positive)_

_Greenhouse Competition, Dirigible Plum_

_Quidditch Competition, The Golden Snitch_

_Hogwarts Subjects Competition, Charms_


	3. Paradise Lost

Hermione Granger had always wanted to look into the Mirror of Erised. She knew it could be dangerous, and seeing her deepest desire might reveal a part of her she didn't know or like, but ever since Harry and Ron had told her about the Mirror, she had wanted to look into it for herself.

She had wondered long and hard over what she would see in the Mirror if given the chance to look into it. Once upon a time, she might have answered she would see herself together with Ron, or Harry happy, or the Order winning the war without any deaths.

But the war was over now, and she was dating Ron, and Harry seemed happier than she had ever seen him before now that the pressure of killing Voldemort had been lifted off him.

And she had absolutely no idea what her deepest desire might be, now that she was finally going to look into the Mirror of Erised.

She walked towards the Mirror slowly, warring with herself as to whether she should look into it or not. What if she saw the dead brought back to life, or something just as impossible?

She would be able to force herself away from the Mirror and move on with her life, she had no doubt about that, but the experience itself would be incredibly painful. There was no way she would be able to stop herself from breaking into tears.

Was looking into the Mirror really worth the risk?

But she was a Gryffindor, a third of what the press – and her friends, surprisingly – were calling the Golden Trio. If she could face Voldemort and his Death Eaters, she could face herself and her desires, and keep her composure while she did it.

But as soon as she saw what was waiting for her in the Mirror, all promises of facing it stoically disappeared from her mind, and tears rose to her eyes.

They were there. They were right there, just waiting for her to call out to them.

Even though, logically, she knew the sight of parents wasn't real, she couldn't help but want it desperately. She hadn't been able to find them in Australia, even after all of her searching, and there they were, right in front of her.

They were there, in England, not in Australia, in their home. And best of all, she knew that they had their memory back, because she could see her face in the pictures that dotted their house, see the hundreds of little mementoes they had collected together on their many trips overseas.

They were right there – but she knew they weren't. They were hundreds of miles away, without any knowledge of their old life or their beloved daughter, simply waiting for her to find them.

She shook her head, wiping away her tears angrily. Crying would do her no good. She was Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of her age. She could do anything she set her mind to. And now that she knew what her heart's deepest desire was – well, she had already planned on looking for her parents during the Christmas holidays. She would simply have to double her efforts and make sure that she didn't have to spend a second Christmas away from her parents.

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_For:_

_The Create-A-Potion Challenge_

_The If You Dare Challenge, Prompt 361. At My Parents' House_

_Colours Competition, Yellow (positive)_


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